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Cemetery Florida

The recent visit to Goya's frescoes in the Chapel of San Antonio de la Florida (see blog) has led me immediately afterwards, passing the railway bridge by an infamous, until one of the historically most interesting, curious and unknown of the Town: Florida Cemetery. I say interesting because there are poor people buried bones of 43 patriots killed by French troops of Murat on May 3, 1808; curious, being the oldest burial place in Madrid and I think will be unknown because few locals and outsiders who come there, not only because of the remoteness of the place but because only can be visited free of charge that if, during Saturdays and Sundays for the months of May and June.

looks like a splendid morning, I head to the gate to the cemetery, apparently closed, but immediately opened by the person responsible aware as soon notices the presence of visitors.

The crest of the fence is a shield with the legend "Good That Congregation. Two victims May 1808 "and under" Veterans Volunteer Militia ", signage that invites us to reconstruct the history of the place, with the help of those who know.

Luis Miguel Laporta account Aparisi 1 that " in ancient Burnt Mill Road, now Francisco and Jacinto Street Alcantara, was built in 1798, the cemetery of Florida, an initiative of the Royal House for its employees and family. " It's because this place of burial, which was under the tutelage of the church of San Antonio de la Florida, (depending on the Chapel Royal), the oldest left for Madrid as the second oldest, the current St. Cemetery Isidro (primitive Sacramental de San Pedro and San Andreas), 1811 data.

In the early hours of 2 to 3 May 1808 and in the Principe Pio Mountains (More or less where it is today the base of the gondola), were "shot to the" patriots 2 unfortunate victims of the repression ordered by Joachim Murat, Duke of Berg. Their bodies were left unburied on the ground of sacrifice, from 3 until 12 May when a priest of the shrine of San Antonio, named Julián López Navarro, an uncle of one of the victims, picked them up several carts, the I have the temple and, after holding an office of the dead "buried in corpore" gave them burial in the cemetery near the Royal House employees.

The English curious, though we are not versed in history, we know These heroic deeds by the romantic story that makes Don Benito Perez Galdos in Episode National March 19 and May 2 "and much more for the famous painting by Goya" On May 3, 1808 in Madrid : the executions on Principe Pio Mountain "as reproduced as universally admired.

ecclesiastical jurisdiction In 1851 Bishop passes and the cemetery is closed 3 while ordering its preservation as a historic monument commemorating the victims of the Dos de Mayo. In 1868, before the "Glorious", Elizabeth II gave the cemetery to the Congregation of the Good That and Two Victims May and that at least two of the victims were brothers of the Congregation, an institution that preserved and cared for until 1917, when about to disappear this Congregation is transferred the management and care of the cemetery to the National Philanthropic Society Militiamen Veterans entity founded in 1839 for the relief of the national militia providing decent and Christian burial. It seems that the fact that one member of the Congregation Díez de Pinedo 4 , it was also facilitated such a transition Society .

Since that time and the brackets of the civil war years, the Philanthropic Society has been busy to preserve the cemetery with their limited resources (and with the assistance of the City of Madrid, where necessary) and organize all the Dos de Mayo a memorial, with the assistance of the authorities in memory of these patriots, people of the village , who died defending the independence of the homeland against the invading 5 .

With this information in principle sufficient, to transfer the access gate and we rowed to a path between two rows of gaunt cypresses leads inevitably to the hermitage.

Before following the path laid out, we stop to contemplate, to the left on a wall at the entrance, a ceramic reproduction of Goya's famous painting done in 1982 by the artist, ceramist and Madrid Juan Manuel Sánchez Ríos (1944-2010) who was also president of the Philanthropic Society. Next to an inscription in stone "AL courage and heroism of a people. TRIBUTE TRIBUTE HOW WE PROUDLY dignify SPAIN. LOOR their heroes. MADRID EXCMO.AYUNTAMIENTO. CITY OF PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING. May 1982.


continue down the road, well landscaped with shrubs and flowers, to the entrance to the shrine, surrounded by a masonry wall Toledo Tackle, leaving behind a stone memorial column topped by an iron cross that warns us that this is sacred. At the entrance an inscription reads " Here lie the ashes of the victims shot in the Principe Pio Mountains ."

The historical part is the patio, which we access and that is the old cemetery in Florida. Here we receive and dispense a warm welcome the president of the Philanthropic Society, Jose Luis Sampedro Escolar, educated person, educated and friendly, "warns the moment," that from then on with us and illustrated with detailed explanations.

This court is, at least for me, the most emotional of the place. It is the burial site of the former, an ancient mass grave, on which there is placed a marble slab with this inscription: "IN THIS SAME SITE IN THE NIGHT OF MAY 3, 1808 was dug the pit to bury the VICTIMS GLORIOUS CEMETERY GUARD. Philanthropic Society militia battalions NATIONAL AND DEDICATE THIS WILL REMEMBER IN 1927 6. Around him wreaths still fresh testimony of the last offering .


On another wall ceramic tile work Iruela Cruz, a professor at the School of Ceramics in Madrid (1974), reproduction of an earlier, 1927, reflects the scene of the burial box Vicente Palmaroli 81834-1896 ) "The exhumations ." This picture award at a National Exhibition was acquired by King Amadeo I of Savoy who donated to the City of Madrid where it is stored in the Hall Goya's House Villa 7.

The chapel is a small chapel built in the form of traditional porch and belfry, erected in 1960 by architect Vicente Baztán Perez, director of the Municipal Heritage on the trace of a very battered previous . In that year opened the mass grave in the yard and in individual cases of lead and zinc were deposited in one, the assumptions bones of the victims badly damaged by moisture and other remnants of clothing, footwear and other belongings.

We entered the chapel and crypt consists of ground. On the ground is a simple altar on which there is a book of signatures and the most notorious walls is a marble plaque in tribute to General Espartero that, in addition to ruling the kingdom, was, I guess because of his liberal convictions rooted " president and protector of society and national militia military veterans." The tablet is dated in 1917. On the wall of the staircase to the crypt is framed lithographs and the very general Dominguez Espartero.

For this staircase made in 2008 8 , descended to the crypt where are buried the remains of the Patriots behind a large modern stone on which the names of the twenty identified and the reference to fourteen other unnamed .


Sampedro tells me that the "out" of prisoners was random. Both were able to "muskets" (run with a fusillade) to these and other cases, with one exception, the Gallego Francisco Davila, priest and chaplain of the Royal Convent of the Incarnation in Madrid, which could well be the figure with gray habit tonsured head Goya box, which was executed by direct order of Murat. History tells us that this priest, who had been imprisoned, caught the attention of Murat, who asked his captors about the involvement he had in the events of the day (May 2). To tell which had lashed the French troops armed with a sword, the marshal sentenced "He who kills iron to iron dies" and gave express orders of execution.

The names of some of those killed are unknown because in the book of burials of the then parish of San Antonio de la Florida is the following annotation: " the 12th of the month of May 1808 were buried in the cemetery of the Royal Parish of San Antonio de Padua Florida, 43 were found dead in a hole in the mountain called the Principe Pio: the same as the French were shot to day 3 of the month at four am, and at the time of the excavation were recognized the following persons: Manuel Antolin, D. Francisco Gallego and Davila, Juan Antonio Serapio, Sunday Brana, Rafael Canedo, Antonio Gamazo Maziar, Antonio Zambrano, Martin Ruicavado "accompanied by the following note in the margin:" English shot to the French. " The "Book of burials, which begins this year, 1799, fol. 8. Mat. Year 1808.

Recently, the historian and member of the Philanthropic Society, the aforementioned Luis Miguel Aparisi, managed to identify other ten of these heroes, based on the documents in the Archives de la Villa (records of family pension claims ) which had allowed to stories like the masons who worked on the restoration of the church of Santiago and bravely fought the invading troops.

In the majority of known victims identified their occupation or status and some aspects of their biographies. Their names appear on the stone and repeat for us not to tire the reader, you can also see in http://milicianos.blogspot.com

At the same crypt buried another guest, Gen. Evaristo San Miguel (Cimadevilla 1785 - Madrid 1862), Council President Ministers from the August 5, 1822 to February 17, 1823, who led the National Militia during the heroic episode that starred against the royalist troops on July 7, 1822. His remains were moved from the cemetery from the Sacramental de la Almudena this site in the 80's funeral. The black marble headstone marks the final resting place of General was financed by the Principality of Asturias.

Starting the race, dismissed because of our friendly guide, I am struck by a tile on the wall of the brick wall dedicated "Virtue SISTER MARTHA 17?? -1824 Of the six hundred English soldiers Besançon tank. "I do not know this page, no doubt admirable, of our history that promise to investigate next, being grateful in advance to readers who provide the appropriate" track "or information.

Leaving
already satisfied by the visit that we recommend to our readers (remember that the room is open only on Saturdays and Sundays May and June, 10 to 13 hours).

the other side of the wall in departure orientation to the Glorieta de San Antonio de la Florida, on a mound, there are some concrete blocks "in honor of Goya" pretty awful, but not both such as the Monument to the Discovery of America in the Plaza de Colón, also work the architect, sculptor, painter and professor Joaquin Vaquero Turcios (1933-2010), placed here in 1996 .

already reached the banks of the Manzanares, check, staring at the bridge of the Queen Victoria, which he has ceased to be the eternal apprentice river and that, conversely, torrential flows. The bridge was built between 1908-1909 to replace the missing Green Bridge, inaugurated by the Minister of Development, Gonzalez Besana, with the assistance of the Kings, deserves a curious observation. This is one of the first concrete bridge built in Spain, had in his time, and perhaps now as a masterpiece of engineering and architecture. Its authors were the engineer Dutaste Jose Eugenio Ribera (1864-1936) conceived as "the first builder modern public works in Spain " and the architect Julio Martínez-Zapata Rodríguez (1863-1950), regular contributors. The railing and the colorful lanterns are made of cast (Francisco Iglesias) and symbols are as rampant as the bears Madrid. I see far fashion has also arrived from the locks of love, as in other bridges in many other cities.





round off the trip had better take a pint of cider Avilesina (1.30 €) in a traditional setting of the remaining few, Casa Mingo, founded in 1888, possibly more cider oldest in Spain, run now by the fourth generation of the founder and local which retains the original decor castiza.

©

Manuel Martínez Bargueño
May, 2011

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NOTES

1. Luis Miguel Aparisi Laporta " Cemetery Florida." Madrileños Studies Institute, 2008.

2. In the bag of prisoners from the barracks of Poles (set in the present Plaza of Spain) it seems that their number was 44, but one of them, the porters Juan Suarez, was saved "in extremis" Let Go slurs and throwing downhill to reach the other side of the Manzanares. Other sources indicate that the prisoners were from the "deposits" of detainees from Chamartin Puerta de Santa Barbara, where he had held to the dependents of Receipt of Portillo de Recoletos and the nearby barracks of San Gil.

3. Until the year 1874 continued, however, having burials in this cemetery.

4. Perhaps it was Luis Diez de Pinedo, Marine General.

5. It appears that in 1931 was closed to the public cemetery in 1939 was called Colonel Montesinos Cemetery in memory of Manuel military Montesinos y Molina (1796-1862) known for prison reform.

6. This stone was repaired in 1981 by the Municipal District of Moncloa.

7. According to other reports the picture is in the Municipal Museum. I have not checked.

8. In 2008, the bicentenary of May 2, took place last restoration by architect Antonio Lopez Arazola and shall sanearon, drained and repaired the walls of the room and the chapel and he best solution to lowering the crypt.